Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2018

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scored higher than the benchmark sample. I
have tasted samples that I would not say are
better or worse, but were unique and totally
different expressions of a coffee. And I have
tasted samples that have used yeast that I do
not appreciate as much as the non-inoculated
sample. I would hesitant to tell anyone, 'Your
coffee is going to be better in quality using
yeast-inoculated fermentation,' but I also
would say it is possible."
For her part, Rachel has spent some time
playing with the yeast samples she took home
from France, but she hesitates to draw any
fi rm conclusions yet. She says she "certainly
found some differences, mostly marked in the
aromatics of the Geshas, but I need to repeat
this cupping at least once. In addition, I'm a
little hesitant to come to any conclusions on
this based on such little information—our
trials were very small. We had previously
cupped the Catuais [that had been inoculated
with the yeast] and cupped them again last
week, and found larger differences the fi rst
time than the second time. In fact the second
time, the differences in Catuais with and
without yeast were negligible."
Aida continues to be curious about the
potential of this kind of fermentation, and
has demonstrated the inoculation process
with producers in Costa Rica, Brazil, and
Mexico. Though she worries about the
high price tag that comes with large-scale
yeast inoculation—as much as $1.40/pound
of coffee—Aida is focused on the future.
"We've already seen the potential of [yeast
inoculation] increasing the shelf life of green
coffee," she says, referencing experiments
she has conducted herself over the past year
at J. Hill. "But it's not like we've seen [yeast
inoculation] take coffees from an 80 to an 84,
for example."
She has taken Oro, Cima, and her favor-
ite, Intenso, to producers in Costa Rica,
Brazil, and Mexico with whom she works
under the Aida Batlle Selection distinction.
"Aren't we talking about running out of
specialty because of climate change?" says
Aida. "I'm confi dent there is a solution
here—we're just at the beginning of fi gur-
ing out its best application. But there's still
so much work that needs to be done. This is
just the beginning."
Perhaps using yeast inoculation in
coffee fermentation isn't as essential for
elite producers—for 90+ coffees. If it has
the potential to both improve quality and
profi le, as well as offer a consistency and
effi ciency in the process of fermentation
that the coffee industry hasn't had up until
now, however, it's got to be worth investi-
gating—that's the way Aida sees it.
"Fundamentally at this stage, I want
more people testing it out," says Tim. "I
want to see people push as far as possible
to see what it can do. I do think there is
something important and powerful in the
intentionality that using yeast in fermenta-
tion can bring. The idea that fl avor can be
crafted and controlled more at this moment
in processing is in itself a win for using yeast
for quality."
"I do think there is something important and powerful in the
intentionality that using yeast in fermentation can bring."
—Tim Hill
What does fermentation really
mean?
Fermentation is a biological process
whereby yeast and bacteria trans-
form sugars into energy and fl avor
compounds.
Fermentation occurs in every
form of processing. It is an opportu-
nity to impact fl avor.
Fermentation is a natural process
that happens without human inter-
vention. Winemakers actively choose
whether they will risk a spontaneous
fermentation (natural wine) or
select their microbes and control the
process.
PHOTOS
BY
AIDA
BATLLE
Yeast rehydration and inoculation for
wet coff ee process.
92
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